


Bottling up

by LaKuroNekoBaka



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, I honnestly don't know which tag to add rn but, M/M, Persona 5 Protagonist Has A Palace, hhhhh yeah
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:47:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26629276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaKuroNekoBaka/pseuds/LaKuroNekoBaka
Summary: Ryuji has been quite annoyed with Ren’s behavior lately. He seems more distant than usual, and he never really allowed him to join the fight. He decide to confront his leader to know why.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Sakamoto Ryuji, Kurusu Akira/Sakamoto Ryuji, Persona 5 Protagonist/Sakamoto Ryuji
Kudos: 49





	1. Chapter one

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there, i'm LaKuro, just so you know, i'm not a writer at first but ya know, being an amateur aint bad. Also i'm not english native and there might have some spelling errors from time to time along with some problem with conjugaison. Hope you enjoys it !  
> \-----------------------------
> 
> This chapter was supposed to be a one shot a first, and was written with this optic, however i got a little too onboard that i will mostlikely do more chapter, idk how much yet but there is 
> 
> \------------------------------  
> This scene takes place somewhere after the phantom thieves takes down Kaneshiro’s palace and before Medjed’s menaces, and also in the base game, not p5r. I use Ren Amamiya for joker’s name because it sounded nice also I like Ryuji saying Renren in the dub ngl. Otherwise it would have been y/n lmao

Ryuji is at the arcade, trying to blow off some steams. He’s been preoccupied by a lot of stuff lately. He is one of the first member of the phantom thieves, but yet, he barely participate to any fight. Miss. He’s barely spending time with him too, he’s always buzy doing something else or being with someone else. Miss. At first, while they were planning on taking down Madarame, he thought it was because he needed to plan out things so it would be a success. Miss. Was it ever since Yusuke joined the team? Wait, is Yusuke his new best friend? Miss. Ann told him it wasn’t it. She says that Ren cares deeply about everyone in the team. Hit. But it doesn’t seems like it. Sure, he was here sometimes, when he needed to confess some stuff about the track team but… Hit. Was it genuine? He doesn’t think so. Miss. Miss….

“This is bullshit!”

With all those thought he can’t even hit the targets on the screen. It’s useless. He leaves the place and look at his phone. It’s still pretty early in the afternoon. He’s roaming around in the main streets, ignoring everybody. He have a day full of time, a hand full of anger and a head full of Ren. He’s passing by the dvd rent shop. He looks at his phone, and thinks “I think I need to talk… Right?…”. He’s stopping a moment, lost in his thought. He notice the dvd shop and decide to rent something. What would Ren like? He doesn’t seems to be bothered by action movies. He truly have some guts to enjoy such things. Yeah, that sounds cool. He takes the dvd then sends some messages to his friend.

“Yo. Are you free today? I know it’s a bit late but I’ve grabbed this dvd and I was thinking if we could watch it together. I’ll come to your place and wait around.”

Eff, it’s probably too late but he doesn’t really care. He heads toward the train. He get onboard and hear his phone ringing. He responded.

“Sure, I’m not at Leblanc rn but I’ll tell you when I’ll come home.”

For real?

“Alright, I’ll be waiting for you.”

Does he suspect anything? He doesn’t think so. Well, time to head to Leblanc!

\--- --- ---

“Who was that?” Asked Makoto.

“Ryuji. He asked to hang out” Told Ren after a little pause.

“Well, you already helped me a lot today. I think I can let you go.”

“Are you sure? I don’t feel like I did anything.”

“I’m sure Ren.”

He feels like his bond with Makoto will grow soon. 

“Alright. See you soon.”

“See you!”

Ren left Makoto. It’s unusual for Ryuji to ask for doing stuff like that at this hour. Why is that? Something is definitely odd here. But he doesn’t mind much, as he really enjoys Ryuji’s presence. He waits at the station for the next train to come by. He’s looking at the Phansite. As the leader, he thinks he needs to help to find their new target after all and the forum is filled with a lot of information. A lot useless but who knows after all. 

“So, you are seeing Ryuji?”

Morgana took off guard Ren.

“Yeah.”

“Alright I think I’ll go for a walk when you’re off the station.”

“Ok.”

Nothing really important happened while he was walking home. He let Morgana roam free for the afternoon. He heads up to the cafe in silence. He turned his head and saw Ryuji. He was mumbling on his phone. He looked a little grumpy.

“Hey, wanna heads up to my room?”

The blond boy looked up and saw Ren. His face get a little brighter at his sight. 

“Yeah dude! I’ve found some action movie I thought you might enjoy it.”

“That’s cool.”

The two heads upstairs. Ren put the dvd in, and the two boys watched it. It was a nice simple action movies with a heavy focus on fights. Ryuji couldn’t concentrate much. His thoughts was more into Ren and his behavior. He turned his head and saw the coffee boy pretty into the film, looking into the details. He didn’t know he really liked films this much. 

At the end of the film, the two barely exchange words. The two noticed there is something kinda wrong here. Ryuji knew Ren wasn’t a man of many words, but he looked to have even less word now than usual. The athlete decided to break the silence.

“uhhh What now? I have to admit, I’m hungry right now.”

“I can cook some curry if you wants.”

“How abo- Hey I was about to ask you that.”

“I think Sojiro went back home. Let’s go down stairs.”

Ren lead the way, and saw Sojiro closing the shop. 

“Carefull you two, I don’t want to see any damage to the shop.”

“Don’t worry boss, we won’t do anything.”

“Better be.”

Sojiro left. Ren went in the other room to change his clothes. He really looks nice in his apron. Ryuji took a deep breath. He needs to tell him now how he felt, or he might just never does it. Ren start cooking the famous curry.

“Ren, do you have a moment? I need to talk about something.”

Ren only responded with a “Hm?”. He didn’t look back or anything. That was cold.

“I…” 

The words doesn’t seems to get outside of his mouth. How can he says all of this questioning? This seems so hard.

“Nevermind.”

“Are you sure?”

Ryuji hesitated an instant.

“Yeah. I need to order my thoughts.”

“Take your time.”

Why can’t he just express himself? It’s usually so easy, when he’s in the group but right now? What a nightmare. He doesn’t know why he’s like that. While the curry is cooking, a cold, long silence is set between the two men. They ate in silence. Ryuji was completely lost in his mind. He knew what he wanted to say, the words just doesn’t wanted to go out. Ren noticed that. He said nothing. He’s patiently waiting for his friend’s move. After all, he didn’t know why he’s invited himself over in the first place. A tension between the two starts to build up. They finished their plate. Ryuji mumbled a “Thank you for the food”, breaking the silence. Ren stood up, taking the plates with him to put them in the sink. He heads toward the coffee percolator.

“Do you want anything Ryuji? Something to drink?”

“I… Just water, please.”

“Alright.”

He start to prepare a coffee for himself, before taking out a bottle of fresh water. Ryuji went to sit at the counter. The aroma of the warm drink starts to float around them. 

“Ren.”

“Yes?”

“I was wondering. Why do you never let me fight in the palaces?”

Ren looked at his friend. He’s surprised of the question. The barman looks away. His feelings are getting quite conflicted at the moment.

“Ever since this guy, Yusuke, joined, I’m left aside.”

The cafe is poured in the cup. Ren pushes it next to Ryuji, and goes to the other side of the counter to site next to him.

“I can’t help but feel like I’m useless. Outside of fighting, I don’t really have much skills to help out the phantom thieves!”

“That’s not true.”

“How so?”

“You help out for the calling cards.”

“But Yusuke and Makoto does it way better.”

“You sends them.”

“Everyone can do it. Also, what’s with the distance you have with me. After Kaneshiro, we were close but now you are more and more distant and cold toward me.”

Ren looked down. His saddened face reflects in the cafe. It feels like he’s withdrawing into himself more and more.

“Eff, why did I ever bothered. Of course you would stay silent. It’s not like you actually cared about me.”

Ren puts a hand on his legs. He clenches it. It hurts to hear that.

“That’s…”

Ryuji turned his face to look at his so called friend.

“That’s true right? You never cared about me huh? Guess I always was the clown of the group, the butt of the jokes.”

The blond boy stood up. He was about to leave.

“That’s… That’s wrong.” 

Ryuji stopped in his movement. Did he heard that right.

“All wrong.”

Ryuji is surprised.

“It’s not because I don’t care about you it’s…”

Ren took a deep breath. He’s staring at his reflection. He feels a lot of contradictory emotions deep down. Ryuji went back to his seat, ready to listen.

“If… I took you out of battle, it was for a reason. I…”

Ren really hesitated with what he was about to say. One thing was sure, and it’s that he doesn’t want to confess all the feelings he have. He doesn’t feel ready. He took some seconds to think.

“I can’t really stands all the remarks people do toward you or your attitude. I can’t stand Morgana’s little snarky remarks. You know, like « Oh Skull, you’re pathetic » or « I guess you are good for something Skull ». It’s getting on my nerve each time. And I can’t help to think that it can hurt your feelings too. I don’t even know why I acted so cold toward you, that really wasn’t my intention. I…”

Ren pauses himself. His grip relaxed. He puts his hand next to the cup, and take a sip out of it.

“I don’t want you to be hurted. I don’t want anyone to be hurted.” 

“Ren…”

“Sorry. I should have told you that earlier.”

“I…”

Ryuji looked down. He did not expect that. 

“I didn’t know. Sorry.”

“Huh?”

“I’m sorry because I assumed you actually considered me more as a nuisance or something.”

“Absolutely not…”

Ren took another sip out of the cup. Ryuji’s looking at him. He looks a little worried. He feels like something’s still wrong. He was right.

“Can I confess something?”

“Sure.”

“Are you sure? It’s something that’s been running through my mind and… let’s say… I don’t think it’s something really, uh, positive to say? I don’t really know how to explain.”

“Dude, quit trying to protect me. What’s the point in that?”

“…”

Ryuji sighted. 

“Botteling up isn’t good for you, you know? I’m all ears.”

Ren contemplated his reflection in what’s left of the coffee.

“I… I feel like everyone is putting all their hopes and trust in me. Like, everyone in the team is expecting me to be the perfect leader for the phantom thieves.”

His friend wanted to interrupt him, to tell him he’s wrong, but had a second thought.

“But… There is not only our team that puts me pression on, a lot of adults too. Like… I don’t even know if I really can name them. I know that they want me to be in a better place or something but like… Ever since we’ve beaten Kamoshida, I couldn’t stop thinking on how I was now stuck in this machinery and I’m just some kind of gear or pawn in a much, much bigger fight or some thing.” 

Ren drank the rest of his coffee and put the cup on the side. He then put his head in his arm, on the counter. 

“All I can do is moving forward, work and hard work, and I can’t give up at all or even rest because if I do, I feel like… I don’t really know. I feel like there is some kind of impending doom coming out for us and if I don’t keep up, we will all sink into.”

“Dude.”

“I can’t help but feel crushed by it. It doesn’t help that there is always Morgana on my shoulder, almost monitoring and commenting all I do. I truly don’t have a moment for me. I..”

“Morgana isn’t there now right?”

“He’s on a walk.”

“Oh.” 

“What was I saying…”

“You don’t have a moment for you?”

“Ah, yeah… Morgana’s always here to reminds me about phantom thieves stuff, all I do is solely about the group and our target and… I don’t feel like I’m friend with anybody. I feel like I’m just here for buisness. I don’t feel like I’m myself, not here, not in palaces or mementos, I’m just wearing fragment of personalities only to please others and…”

Ren stopped venting for a second. He felt like he’s about to cry. He took a deep breath, and carried his head to raised it. It was painful for him. He’s looking down, away from his caring friend. He doesn’t feel like he can look at him in his eyes.

“Sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?”

“You should leave.”

“WHAT?”

“I shouldn’t tell you that.” 

Ryuji stood up. His chair got projected quite far in the back.

“For real? Oh hell no I will not leave.”

Ren didn’t moved at all. He stayed silent. Ryuji looked pissed. His fist clenched for a second before relaxing.

“Listen. I may be an idiot sometimes, but I can see when a friend needs help.”

“I don’t need help.”

“You do. You can’t go back to bottling up everything.”

“I don’t want to be a dead weight for the team, I have to be strong and deal with everything alone.”

“You can’t do it alone Ren.”

“I ca-”

“No You can’t. Listen, I really care about you. I… Eff… Have you told anyone else how you where feeling?”

Silence. The blond friend looked embarrassed. He spoke with a calm voice and looked away.

“I guess you didn’t tell anyone. Is there anything else you’ve been repressing?”

“…”

Ryuji got closer to him, and hesitate a bit. He decide to hug Ren from behind. He put his head on his friend’s hair. His arms warps him thightly. The leader is surprised, also embarassed by the affection.

“Take your time. I’m here.” 

Ren sniffed. He doesn’t know how to react, nor what to say. The only thing he wants to do is…

“Can we go upstairs?”

“Uh?”

“I… I don’t feel comfortable here…”

“Sure.”

Ryuji freed his friend from the embrace. Ren stood up weary. His friend hesitated a moment to help him move around, but he made a sign that he was “fine”. He did his best to not show his face. He’s crying. He couldn’t hold it anymore. Ryuji suspected that he was crying. It would be abnormal to not cry in this situation. He followed his friend going upstairs. Ren went directly to his bed, sinking his head in his pillow. Ryuji watched over.

“Need anything?”

Only mumbling.

“Alright I guess. Can I join you?”

Ren moved a little his head.

“Where.”

“Dunno, can I… uh.”

Ryuji blushed a little thinking of what he was about to say. How can he say that without sounding like a pervert? Also, Japan isn’t really a country where you can be open with your sexuality. The athlete knew he already was an outsider because of Kamoshida, but this society isn’t really welcoming for one of his kind. Furthermore, he was worried of Ren’s reaction.

“Can I snuggle you… or something?”

He felt like his voice would crack at any moment when he said that. Ren didn’t said anything comprehensible, was he mumbling? He sunk his head even more instead. This was awkward.

“You… You really look like someone that needs that honestly. Do you, uh, mind?”

“…”

“Sorry that w…”

“Sure.”

Wait, what. Ren moved a little to give Ryuji some space to lay down. The dyed haired boy hesitated a bit, but layed down. He put his free arm over his bust of his friend, not knowing where he should put the second one. Got closer to his friend, almost spooning him. The blanket keep some distance between the two

“Is this comfortable?” asked Ryuji in a peaceful tone

“Yeah.”

“Alright.”

Ryuji stayed like that for as long as Ren needed. He took advantage of being close to him to be comfortable and somewhat recharge his own battery. It really was nice to have his friend so close to him. He could smell clearly the coffee aroma out of his hair. This is pleasant. 

Morgana jumped at the window, and saw the two boys like this. The cat was confused, but also didn’t know what to do. Ryuji noticed him here, and tried to sign “Oh hey what’s up?”. Morgana looked at Ren, whose face was still pretty much in the pillow that starts to get really humid now, then Ryuji. 

“Hm”

Ryuji wanted to say something to this black cat but a meowing cutted him right before he could say anything.

“I’ll give you some space”

The cat leaved. Ryuji sight. Ren turned his head so he could face the wall and talk easily.

“Morgana went at the window and saw you here right?”

“Yeah.”

“He’ll be waiting outside, he’ll come back here once you leave don’t worry.”

“Oh.”

“…”

“…” 

“Despite everything, I still shouldn’t have break everything to you Ryuji…”

“Nah bro, it’s fine”

“It isn’t, you already have a lot of stuff going on, with the track team, phantom thieves stuff and your mother and-”

“I said it’s fine, you can’t just close yourself. Don’t worry about all phantom thieves stuff, you are doing great.”

“…”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Can I stay with you for the night?”

“hm?”

“I don’t like knowing you being alone up here when your mind is running on those shitty thought.”

“Morgana’s here tho.”

“Yeah but like all three together?”

“Hm.”

“I just want to be sure you’ll be fine.”

“Sure.”

Ryuji freed Ren.

“I’ll warn my mom I’ll stay there and call Morgana to come up.”

Ren stayed silent for a moment, and before the blond boy could go down the stairs, he heard a voice calling him. He turned back and saw Ren sitting, looking at him. He’s clearly tired, his face is showing how much he must have been crying.

“Ryuji… Thank you. Please don’t tell anyone about this, alright?”

“You mean what we’ve been talking about?”

“Yeah.”

“Sure.”


	2. Chapter two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The phantom thieves are now against Okumura, Haru's dad. Not everything goes as planned.
> 
> Spoiler for okumura's change of heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya, i did a little art of chatper one bc i couldn't resist. As said in the summary, there is spoiler for okumaru's palace here and his change of heart o/
> 
> twitter : https://twitter.com/LaKuroNekoBaka/status/1311032408754585602  
> tumblr : https://lartkuronekobaka.tumblr.com/post/630623925685141504/im-a-sucker-for-this-ship-i-drew-this-inspired
> 
> As of writing this, i have to explore shido's palace

It’s been some times now since Ryuji slept with Ren and Morgana. They didn’t talked at all about what happened. Morgana tried to ask Ryuji when he came back down but he didn’t answered. Sojiro was surprised to see the blondy with Ren the next day but didn’t questioned it. He does what he want as long as the cafe isn’t damaged. Ryuji had some time during this time to chat with Ann during the Hawaii trip. He admitted that he kinda likes Ren, in a much closer way that close friend symbolized. Ann was a bit surprised at first to hear that, but brushed it off as “You know, I’ve kinda noticed how careful you were with Ren so, I’m actually not that surprised. Don’t worry, I’ll keep it a secret.”. 

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – 

“Go, my employees! Be the foundation upon which my victory is built...!”

The thieves are finally in front of this lord of greed. This fight will be hard. Noir, Skull, Mona and Joker are in the front line, the others are carefully analyzing every moves. Joker knew he didn’t had any time to waste. For once, he allowed Skull fight, because he thought he might need Captain Kidd’s thunder’s ability. Skull was glad to fight along side Joker. They all give what they could to defeat all those robots as fast as they could. Joker’s judgment was right with the team composition, all elements fitted the enemies. Now only the Execurobo MDL-ED is left. They will do this. Except that there was a miss calculation. Joker eventually loosed his attention for a second, and got hurt badly. Crit. This was bad. Really bad. That was the Big Bang Challenge, and right in the face. He didn’t had much hp left at this point. Noticing the leader’s weakness, the robot decide to add on and hit physically. The time stopped for an instant, because of fear. He should have guarded. He saw the robot coming for him. He stopped breathing, accepting his death. He closed his eyes. 

Nothing. Screams. A singular laugh.

“Skull?!?”

“Face the manpower of Okumura Food.”

Joker opened his eyes again. Skull was in front of him, staggered by the hit. He didn’t payed attention to his health too. The blond boy loosed his balance. Joker couldn’t stand up at the sight of one of his dear friend hurt badly. He needs to fight. He needs to stand up. He needs to- 

Noir took care of the reception of Skull. She lied him on the floor softly.

“Wake up!” Shouted Oracle.

“This is really bad…” mumbled Panther.

“I’m going in.” 

Queen summoned Joanna, ready to rush headlong in the fight. Panther halted her before she could do anything. She felt like something is coming. Noir and Mona summonsed their respective persona, putting them two in front of Skull and Joker.

“N-no… This can’t be happening.” murmured Joker. His look is getting more and more serious. He took Skull’s body. He can’t be dead, right? Please, Skull, don’t be dead. His head against his chest, Joker felt some tear rushing on his face. Panther walked up to Joker. He looked up. She invoked Carmen to use Media on Skull. Useless.

“Joker, don’t you have a persona that can put him on his feet now?”

Joker took a deep breath and look in his masks.

“You’re right.”

“It’s going to be ok, alright?”

“Can you take Skull in the back lane faster?” Screamed Mona. “We can’t hold up for an eternity. 

“Harity.” Joker healed the fatal wound off Skull. 

The robot used again a strong Physical attack. Both Milady and Zorro couldn’t resist the hit and dissipated.

“Arahabaki.” Joker reflected the damages. He took a second to channel his emotions, hesitating to give a little sign of affection toward his friend. After he give Skull’s body to Panther, he face Okumura, and stared at him with a cold, cold look. He is enraged. But not the kind of enraged you can be inflicted by the shadows. Enraged. He progressed step by step toward Okumura. He’s mostly ignoring his teammate asking him to stop here. The robot tried to hit him. But nothing. Not a single scratch. His hit was stopped by his hand, and his hand only. Okumura tried to sends off more robots, but nobody came. Joker’s wrath is unstoppable. He took his gun out. He only sees this vader lite figure in front of him. He should be afraid. Each steps resonate in the room. He shot all the bullet in such speed everybody was surprised the recoil didn’t impacted much Joker’s precision. Every bullet for this shadow’s body. He got close enough to be able to grab him by the collar. Joker lifted his opponent, staring right in his eyes.

“W-w-wait, you shouldn’t do this.”

No pity for such a piece of trash, to hurt his dearest friend, Skull. He threw his body on the floor with all his strength. He walked up to where the body is. He raised his leg, smash the helmet. Raised his leg again, hit right in the head. Raised again. A strength took him. Queen couldn’t let Joker kill this man like a nobody. They needed him alive. They need him to spit out the truth. Joker terrified everyone. They didn’t know why he reacted like that. Except Panther, she had some suspicion. Queen let Joker go in the back lane. He got some time to cool down. Once he was on his feet, he fell down. This adrenaline rush took out all his energy that was left. Joker passed. 

They now where out of the palace. Yusuke carried Ren, and Ann Ryuji. They didn’t know what they should do. They can’t go to Leblanc right now. Ryuji woke up. He looked around a bit and noticed they were out. Ann put him down, but ready to let him lean on her shoulder if needed. 

“What happened?”

“A lot.” Said Yusuke.

“I didn’t know Ren could go in such length. That was scary...” added Futaba

“And totally not like the Ren we knows” commented Morgana. “But more importantly, how are you feeling Ryuji?”

“Uhhh fine?”

“Really? You took a rather hard hit back there.” Somewhat calmly explained Yusuke.

Ryuji took some time to think about what happended and…

“Wait, is Ren ok?”

“Ren’s fine… We think.” Responded Ann.

“We should go back to Leblanc, but traveling like that would be a problem” Declared Morgana. “That would be suspicious.”

“What can we do now?” Asked Makoto. “It’s not like if we could go see the doctor we called for Futaba.” 

The gang stayed silent for a moment. Ryuji stared at Ren, worrying. 

“But… Did we got the treasure?” 

“Oh right. We did.”

“Hm cool”

Ren moved a little in Yusuke’s arms, grabbing his attention. He wakes up, and instinctively put his hand in front of his eyes due to the sun’s brightness. He groans a little. Ryuji looks immediately more relaxed. 

“Looks like we won’t have so much pain to get him home.” Said Futaba.

“Do you think you can walk Ren?” Asked Yusuke.

Ren looked around. He was outside of the palace. Not a lot of people around. Only the gang. His eyes met with Ryuji’s. Ryuji looked down, then up, before looking away.

_Are you ok?_

_Why did you do that? You worried me._

_Sorry, but I didn’t want to loose you there._

_You shouldn’t have jumped in front of me still!_

“Ren?” Called Yusuke.

“Oh, uh, yeah, I can walk… I think.”

Yusuke put down Ren slowly. He struggle to stay up without a shoulder to lean on.

“Wait” Said Ryuji. “I can help you.”

“...”

Ryuji gave his shoulder. Ann looked at Makoto like “Is he serious? He was down a moment ago.”

“I think we should go send Ren to the doc.” Imposed Morgana.

“I think too.” Said Haru. “However, I have to go, if I don’t come home soon, my father might get some find my absence suspicious.”

“Alright, we’re coming tomorrow at Leblanc then?” Ask Ann.

“Sounds fine to me” 

“Me too.”

“I’m going my way too” Said Yusuke. “Take care of our leader for me.”

“Don’t worry.”

The gang get separated. They took the train, station per station, to finally arrive to the clinic. The travel was pretty silent. Makoto and Ann leaved too at their stop. Ryuji wanted to excuse himself for his selfless move back then. He remembers their conversation from months ago. Takemi checked on Ren. Some bruises – Morgana and Makoto healed him while they were fleeing – and exhaustion. Luckily, they went at the palace at a Saturday, so Ren have all Sunday to recover. Ryuji accompanied Ren to Leblanc but The leader stopped him here. He needed some times alone. The blond wanted to push himself in but decided that it would be better to give him some privacy. He walks back to the station. Ren asked if Morgana could go with Futaba for the night. The cat was surprise of the ask, and asked why. He was worried for his leader.

“I just need some time alone.”

“After what happened today in the palace? I’m not sure it’s a good idea…”

“Please.”

Morgana stared for something like a minute at Ren. He doesn’t really wants to leave, but he guess he have to.

“If you need to talk about something, tell Futaba so I can come here and listen. Tomorrow there will be a meeting here with the other phantom thieves. We need to discuss about the palace we took down.”

Silence. Morgana is annoyed.

“See you tomorrow.” 

The next morning, Ren struggled to get up. He was tired, and quite moody. His mind couldn’t stop running. His doesn’t remembers much about what happened in the palace, all he could remember was Ryuji jumping in front of him, taking this hit right in the chest. He thought he saw him stabbed. After that, everything is blurred, no matter how much he concentrate. He stayed in his bed, but Sojiro called him.

“Hey. Your friends are here.”

“Did you forget the team was coming?” Screamed Morgana, hoping Ren would hear.

Ren was annoyed. He really didn’t wanted to see them today. He goes out of his bed, still in his pj, and peeks his head.

“You can go up…” said weakly Ren. 

The team looked at each other, that’s clearly not normal. Everyone except Ryuji goes upstairs. The blond boy asked Sojiro if Ren went down before they came here, and the parental figure tells him no. He didn’t even took a breakfast now that he thinks about it. Ryuji winced. This worries him. Sojiro asked why such a question, but no answers. He walk upstairs. Ren went back to his bed. Everyone was confused.

“He must still be tired” Assumed Futaba. “The doc did says he was exhausted.”

They putted in place the table, and everyone sat down.

“I hope it’s that” Says Makoto. “A-anyways, we need to discuss about this fight.”

“Yeah, Joker was out of his mind.”

Ryuji was a little uncomfortable. He thinks he knows exactly why he acted like they said. Ren cares a lot about him, and for once he fought, he just risked his life for him like a complete idiot.

“It’s because I jumped in right?”

“Well, that might be a part of it.” Said Ann. 

“That’s still quite extreme for a reaction from our leader.” Added Yusuke. 

“Ren, what happened?” Asked Morgana.

Ren was silent. He’s facing the wall, lying down.

“Maybe it’s not time to talk about this now.” Said Haru. “So, if everything goes right, now that we took my father’s treasure, he should have soon a change of heart, am I correct?”

“Yeah.” said Ann. “What does his treasure looks like?”

“A maquette of a spaceship. I remember father telling me about how much he wanted one but couldn’t afford it.”

“It’s kinda odd when we see how much wealth he have now.” Said Makoto

“Well, it’s possible wanting to have what he want is the source of the distortion of his heart.” Added Morgana.

The group stayed silent for a moment. Ren not sitting next to everyone bothered them.

“Hey, since Haru joined us, how about we celebrate that!” Announced Ann, trying to gloom up the ambiance.

“Yeah, where should we go this time?” Asked Futaba

Discussions Begins. Haru proposed Destiny land, as her she haves the means to let all her new friends enjoys some good time as VIP there. The group is stunned, but yet, they agreed to go there. This will be very fun they think. In the meantime, Ren turned around, facing them. Ryuji asked him if he was fine for this plan. Ren agreed. So, it was settled. Everyone except Morgana and Ryuji leaved the place.

“Ren, are you ok?”

“I kinda feel down. I don’t even know what happened in the palace during the fight.”

“I was out too so I don’t know either.”

The two looked at Morgana.

“You went completely out of control. Like, you were able to take out shadow Okumura alone, with your bare hand. Ignoring the robot, taking the hit like it was nothing. You... If Makoto wasn’t here to grab you, I think you might just have killed it.”

Ren took some time to process what Morgana said.

“Did… Was it my fault?” Asked Ryuji.

“Sorry. I don’t really know why I acted like that.”

Ren looked at his hands. 

“Ren, you should rest a little now. We’ll wait to Okumura to have change of heart, nothing bad should happen.” Told Morgana. “In the end, we did exactly as before.”

“I’ll be leaving.” Said Ryuji. “Take care of yourself”

“And don’t bottle up again…” he thought to himself.

Today’s the day where the phantom thieves goes to destiny land. What an after school to spend with friends. Ren was able during some day to cool down a little. He was quite worried and stressed because of Okumura’s case, getting some troubles falling asleep. He spent most of his time in the park with Ryuji. That was some fun times. Haru warned them beforehand that her father had a press conference to do this night. This won’t stop them to enjoy the day tho.

They are all sitting down at a table, Ryuji sitting right next to Ren. They got to dine together, watching firework, chatting pretty happily. As usual, Ann tease Ryuji, just for fun, because Futaba made him wear some teddy bear headband. He really looks cute with this on the head that said. It’s was almost time for the conference. Haru was a little worried. Everyone took out their phones. The president is talking about how he treated his employees, what he haves done. He was about to gives the most important piece of information, who is responsible of the mental shutdowns. 

However, before he was able to say anything, he was taken by a big pain. His agony scream resonated. His face went down, and some black ooze was dripping from his mouth and eyes. He looked up toward the camera, and horror sight, the live stream went down. 

A mental shutdown.

The thieves was surprised. This isn’t what it was supposed to happen. They did everything just like the usual. Ren couldn’t speak at all. He letted his phone drop on the table, staring at the void. Haru called home. Everyone was panicking. Futaba told the team it was exactly how her mom died. Ryuji got angry, Haru left them.

“But for today, I think we should all return home” Told Makoto.

Everyone nods, except Ren. He felt like his mind was spiraling down. He held his head with both of his hand, elbows on the table. He was mumbling something incomprehensible in his breath. Ryuji hesitated to put a hand on his shoulder. 

“H-hey, are you ok?” He asked.

No answers. They looked at each other, worried.

“This is all my fault” thought Ren. “This is all my fault Okumura died. It’s all my fault Ryuji got hurt. It’s all my fau-”

Ryuji touched his shoulder, this snapped him out of his chain of thought. He elevated his head, looking at his friends 

“Ren! Are you ok?” Asked Futaba

Ren looked at his hands.

“I…”

Ren hesitated a bit.

“I was lost in my thought, sorry.”

“Hey, let’s head home, alright?” Said Morgana. “I’ll be looking after you.”

“Ok…”

Everyone went home.

\------------

Igor called Ren at the velvet room. 

“Our masters have some words for you.”

“Stand up, and listen carefully inmate.” 

“Ah, it seems an obstacle has been dressed in front of you and your rehabilitation. This is unfortunate, but your bonds are quite strong.”

“What does it means.”

Igor laughed.

“You will see soon. However, I have a lot of trust in you. You will succeed in this challenge.”

“Don’t slack off, inmate.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading the fic so far ! I hope you enjoy it o/ 
> 
> At first the whole destiny land segment was in chapter 3 but i felt like i could put it here without breaking the flow much
> 
> Next update around next week again, as i already got a big chunk already written


	3. Chapter three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Haru's dad death, Akira's been more and more distant, in an unusual way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to admit, i had to rewrite most part of this chapter as i wasn't that happy with what i first drafted (it also included part of what would be chapter 4 and 5). This chapter is pretty short but the next one will be longer i promise
> 
> I surprisingly have ideas for other fic (pegoharu and pegoryuharu) so uh stay tuned o/

Ryuji was extra worried knowing how fragile his friend mental was already. He couldn’t stop thinking. Ren was hiding his feeling again, he saw it. He was not fine. His thought must hurt him. He had his phone in his hand, looking aimlessly at the apps. It’s now the night before the exams. He noticed how distant toward the team he got since the announcement. He didn’t even accepted his invitation to study together. He didn’t missed this for the last two times. Maybe it was only him, and his thought are going wild, over-analyzing over some shit on the boy, he have to admit, he have a crush on for several months now. He stared at his reflection on his phone. The metanav app was bothering him. He knew persona users can’t have palace, but Ren’s case special… Right? He’s the only one that can use the various shadows as his own persona after all. Does Ren have a palace? He opened the app. And typed in Ren’s name.

_Match_

F-F-for real??? That’s impossible, Ren can’t have a palace, Ryuji denied the evidence that was right in front of his eyes. And even then, if he had one, what would his other keyword be? He recovered from the shock. He feels like he already know what is the distortion, a jail. But the place he think his jail is? This is really vague to him. With exams coming up, he won’t be able to join the rest of the team and talk about it right away. Also, he can’t tell Ren, what would happened if he tried to lead them in his heart? He probably doesn’t want anyone to know his true feeling. He’ll probably mislead on purpose. Futaba was able to get into her own palace, but she was a special case. Ren is a persona user, while she wasn’t at the time. Arg, he’s still overthinking. He enters jail in the nav.

_Match_

Yeah, he was sure of that. He should go to sleep now, but can’t. He decide to enters random location in the application. Leblanc, Shibuya, the school, the arcade, his place… Tokyo? After all, he was sent to Tokyo because of some asshole.

_Match_ , _beginning Navigation._

Skull did not expected the whole city to be his prison. He looked around. Nothing but a huge block of bricks standing strongly. The ambiance was really blue. A lot of chains was on the floor, directing toward the big building. He walked up there. The door isn’t locked. He noticed only now that he wasn’t changed into his phantom thief outfit. It’s only a matter of time, he was thinking. He entered the building. A straight corridor was waiting for him. He should be careful to not stay here for too long. He have to go to school tomorrow. He hears sounds echoing. A laugh, someone singing, some piano. This is really a dark place. Some chain rustled on the floor. How long was he walking again? The sounds are more and more distinct. Did a violin joined in? There was some grating noise in the other side of the wall, mechanical. Some light sparks the cold floor. He felt some wind passing through. He finally reached the end of the corridor. He got blinded by the strong light of the room. When his eyes was finally adapted to this room, he was welcomed by… A maid? No, that’s not a maid, but a maid automate, black hairs, twin tails, a big smile, and a quite generic dress. 

“Welcome to my master’s heart.”

The voice was really robotic, but familiar. The movement of the automate was quite slow, but it bowed. 

“He was waiting for you, in the middle of the scene.”

A scene? Is this a jail or a theater? He gets some time to look around here. This place looked more like a theater scene than a jail. Big doors were standing in the back.

“Please, do not make hi-”

“Ah, my dear, there you are.”

This voice. It’s him. A dark figure is walking toward Ryuji. Fluffy black short hair, a happy theater mask on the face, some showoff clothes similar to Joker’s phantom thief outfit… and chains. Chains attaching his legs, going into the backstage. Shadow Ren was standing here, a hand on the side of the mask.

“How are you, Ryuji?”

“I should ask this you know.”

“I know, I know. This palace is there for a reason after all. But you already know why. Remember this night.”

“I remember it well, Ren. But I’m sure there is more than this.”

“Oh, you are right Darling.” 

Darling? The shadow chuckled, and is now right in front of him. He puts both of his hands on his cheeks.

“There is so much stuff I’ve been putting away, in fear to face it. But now, look at were I am! In front of the one and only Skull, one of the first member of the phantom thieves, in a “tete a tete”. Aaah, aren’t I lucky?”

Ryuji is puzzled. The two faces are getting closer and closer.

“H-hey, what are you doing?”

“Isn’t that clear?”

Ryuji jumped back.

“Do you mean… You had.. No, Ren had feeling for me this whole time?”

“Always have been my dear. But, you know, he doesn’t really know how you feel, he was scared to tell you that because he doesn’t want you to loose you. How can he feels your love is genuine if all he was doing was putting mask over mask over mask.”

Ryuji looked away, feeling bad for his friend.

“I’d rather hear this from the real one, you know.”

The Shadow noticed how uncomfortable the fake blond was.

“Oh Ryuji my love, you’ll probably never hear it from the real me anyways. He keeps everything deep down here. And, don’t feel bad for me. You couldn’t know that. Nobody knows. Unless… You manage to get to my treasure, maybe you’ll get a word or two about it.”

Silence between the two, Ryuji had a lot going on in his head, so many questions, but he felt a little tired right now. He started to turn back, when the shadow stopped him.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Huh? Home.”

If the mask didn’t hid his emotions, he would have looked perplexed. 

“I’ll steal your heart.”

“You already did.”

This got Ryuji by surprise. He’s blushing.

“Y-your treasure, I mean. Don’t you think I will abandon you.”

“By leaving me? Sorry dear, but I can’t believe that.”

Chains rattles. This is bad, thought Ryuji. He’s on guard, facing the shadow, observing his movement. 

“What do you don’t believe?”

Tension between the two starts to build up. The shadow did not respond. He didn’t trust those word, he thought Ryuji only liked a mask of himself after all. The one he loved started to walk away again. The shadow hesitated. He knew how this place was a danger for him and his friend. His conjecture was that people gets mental shutdown because of their shadow self and palaces, and him existing would mean he will be an easy target. However, he was scared. He was scared to loose everything he’s been putting so much energy this past month. He was scared to loose everyone, disappoint them. He was scared to loose Ryuji. Even being the true self, he couldn’t resist putting out masks that would do nothing but complicate even more the situation. He hated this, and tried to correct his shot. He stretch out his hand in front of him. He took a deep breath, and screamed.

“WAIT!”

This froze Ryuji in place, looking back. Such a cold stare to this pitiful silhouette.

“Please…” he muttered “Please don’t leave me. I’m…”

The blond boy’s eyes looked tired, wanting to leave already. He will not leave the real Ren. The shadow seemed to hug himself akwardly, looking away. The lights in the palace changed, reflecting the change of mood, from the melancholic blue to some silver, like if the moon was behind the black haired boy. The chariot was wondering why such a change in attitude from the shadow, him being so smug and playful five minutes ago.

“I don’t want to feel lonely anymore.”

“Then stop pushing people away.”

Cold. Ryuji approached the corridor. The maid was still here. He sent a cold glare at it, wondering where it even came from. It moved and hold on his jacket, surprising the boy.

“Stay… Here…” 

Those robotic words were creepy. Ryuji noted the next time he came here, he’ll have to be extra discrete. If he sees shadow Ren again, he doesn’t know how he will react, and that worries him. He pulled his sleeve, looking carefully at the shadow. Still standing in the middle of the scene. One of the door in the back is open, revealing two small girl wearing blue. Ryuji assumed they also were one of those robots. They talked while taking turn, but he couldn’t hear anything. The shadow turned around, walking away, the head low. The blond left the palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this fic so far ! I hope you guys enjoys it ! I would like to also thanks yall for the hits, kudoes, subscription and bookmark, it means a lot to me !
> 
> Next chapter next week, hopefully next time i won't have to change my chapter for the most part haha. That said, I would appreciate some feedback, as this is the first time i publish something i'm kinda proud of


	4. Chapter four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Futaba sends a message to the team, she have something important to say

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there ! As, i think, i've mentionned before, i've planned to participate in the nanowrimo this year and i've planned to do fanfics for the month, three persona 5 related and four houseki no kuni one shot. I'll talk about the challenge on twitter so if you are interested, [here's a link](https://twitter.com/LaKuroNekoBaka) ! If you have questions or request, [ ask me on tumblr](https://lakuronekobaka.tumblr.com/) ! 
> 
> I'll try to finish this fic before the end of the month (but sheduled weekly) also !

The day at school felt like a torture to Ryuji. Not only he had a hard time with the exam, but his mind was filled with what he saw yesterday. He tried to find a plan that wouldn’t involve any of the other thieves, so he could manage to get some progress in the palace, but that was impossible. He’ll have to wait until the exam’s done. Or so he thought. When he was out for the day, he immediately receive a message from Futaba.

“Yo, I want you to come to my house, ASAP”

Unusual of her, but she must have reason.

“Sure.”

“I wish the other girl could come but they seems busy. Inari’s on the way too.”

Is she organizing a phantom thief meeting by herself? This actually takes a weight off Ryuji.

“Ok, omw”

“Ok, so, you might wonder why I’m calling everyone here, outside of Ren, right?”

Morgana, Yusuke and Ryuji were standing in front of Futaba. She asked if she could borrow the cat for the day.

“I do” Said Yusuke

“Well, I think we can all agree on him having a big change in his comportment lately.”

Morgana confirmed that. 

“And his reaction for Okumura’s death was worring. Actually, it was very similar to me back wh-”

“Ren have a palace.” Cut Ryuji. This took Futaba off guard. She’s certainly surprised.

“Actually, that’s what I was about to mention Ryuji, that he might have one.”

“How can you be so sure, Ryuji?” Spitted Morgana. “And besides, Persona users can’t have palaces!”

“That’s what I thought too but look at the nav.”

He took out his phone and openned the app. Ren’s palace was bookmarked here.

“I couldn’t sleep yesterday, so I opened the nav app and entered some words.”

Morgana looked annoyed, facing the truth. Futaba continued.

“You too noticed how he was odd huh?”

“Yeah.”

Yusuke was only watching, thinking.

“But I can’t go there alone. If I meet his shadow again, I can’t guarantee I’ll come back in one piece.”

“You angered him? I knew you were an idiot but not like this.” Smirked Morgana

“Shut up already, I didn’t.” Retort Ryuji. “And beside you really shouldn’t do this kind of comment in the palace.” 

Morgana gave wide eyes to Ryuji before frowning.

“What do you mean?”

“He… We should put aside our different and like not insult each other for the time being. It might irritate the shadow... Ren didn’t really liked that actually.”

The thieves stayed silent for a moment. Morgana was not comfortable at all. Yusuke finally breaks the silence

“Ryuji, you went there right? How was it like?”

“I couldn’t see much, but the place was cold and unwelcoming. There was a long allay, a scene, big closed door in the back, chains on the floor… I met the shadow too…” 

“What are the other keywords?” Asked immediately after Futaba.

Ryuji took some seconds before answering.

“Tokyo, and jail.”

“He thinks of the city as a prison?” Wondered Yusuke.

“Not surprising considering the reason why he’s here.” Commented Morgana.

“Any ideas on what awaits us?”

“I don’t really know. Robots, and cells I think. A maid thing greeted me.”

Morgana was pensive a moment.

“I think I know who this can be. We should proceed carefully, we might see cognitive version of ourselves there.”

“If cognitive Ren have a cognitive me, it might be bad news for us” Worries Futaba, knowing how great she can be at getting information on locations and all. 

“We have you at our side Futaba, we should be fine.” Reassured Morgana.

“I don’t think I saw any shadow on my way, like, no enemies.”

“Considering he use other shadows as persona, it doesn’t sounds too odd.”

“Ryuji, can you doodle out the layout you could see?” Asked Futaba

Futaba gave out a sheet and a pen to Ryuji. 

“I couldn’t see much tho. And I’m no artist”

He started to draw.

“So, what should we do?” He asked.

“We can try to visit the palace today, but you still have your exams for the rest of the week right?” Said Morgana.

“I do, but like, with the palace here I won’t be able to concentrate anyways.”

“Should we try?”

Futaba played around with her fingers. She was quite tensed and anxious as this situation was completely different from what she was used to. After all, it was their leader they were talking about, and he won’t be able to join. Will they be alright without him in the palace? It helped her calm down a little.

“I should tell the other girls before.” She said, suddenly taking her phone, furiously typing. “Don’t worry I’m assuring myself no one can trace the information”

She created a group chat with Ann, Makoto and Haru, to recap everything they said. She gave away the keywords. Makoto seemed away from her phone, but the other two were here. They certainly were surprised. 

“Also, we’re going in a moment, we need to grab some medicine just in case.”

“Count on me then” Kindly said Haru. “I have no plan today, and I actually have some items that would help us in the metaverse.”

“Bring them on”

“I can’t come, I have some last minutes studies to do for the exams”

“That’s fine.”

Futaba signed that it was ok. Morgana hopped on the floor. 

“Oh, by the way, Haru’s coming, she’ll bring some item for the palace.”

“Alright. I’ll grab some healing item from Ren’s stock just in case.” Said the cat. “Let’s head there when I’m back.”

They all agreed. 

They were waiting in front of the huge bloc. They noticed they weren’t considered as threat. Futaba was stimming again. This place was much scarier than she thought. Haru was there a minute after, a bag that seemed full in her hand. Ryuji glanced at the door of the palace. It was pretty silent.

“So, he really does have one.” Said Yusuke

“Ren…” mumbled Futaba

“Yeah, you should head in. I’ll wait a bit before coming in. I really don’t want the shadow to see me here.” Said Ryuji, precocious. 

“I’m still wondering why that Ryuji.” Said Morgana.

Ryuji was careful with the words he was about to say. Time for some half truth. Let’s hope he doesn’t try to push himself more.

“He acted strangely, that made me uncomfortable.”

“Oh sure.”

This reaction reassured him. He really didn’t want to talk about how his crush had a crush on him. 

“Can I stay with Ryuji?” Asked Futaba. “I’ll still communicate with yall but I’m not at ease here.”

“We’ll protect you, Futaba-chan.” Said peacefully Haru.

“So, let’s go?” Asked Morgana

“Let’s go.” Confirmed Yusuke.

Mogana, Yusuke and Haru walked first. The corridor was as long as yesterday, but part of the wall was replaced with empty cells. Ryuji and Futaba walked slowly after. She hold his arm, while she tried to scan the zone with her persona. This really was hard to do, any information seemed much more hidden than expected. The main trio was up to the scene area, the robotic voice of the automate resonate. Morgana recognize the maid.

“Welcome to my master’s heart. He’s currently busy with some affairs, he will arrive in a short time. Please, take a seat.”

This isn’t what Ryuji expected, but at least, he can walk up to that door safely. 

“Hey, Futaba?”

“Hmm?”

“You think you can stay with Yusuke and Haru? I’ll try to enter the back area.”

“Alone? Are you sure?”

“Yeah, keep the shadow occupied when he’s with you.”

Futaba looked annoyed.

“I’m really not comfortable here but… If you are sure of what you are doing, I… I will do my best.”

“Alright. I know you will.”

Futaba walked up to the trio, and told them what Ryuji said. They looked surprised, but they trusted him. Yusuke glanced in the back, and noticed the blond was nowhere to be found. He looked around and spotted him between the seats. He was progressing quite fast. They started to talk about the situation on place. Ryuji was close to the big door, near the wall when it start to open.

“My my my who do we have there?” Said a recognizable voice joyfully. 

The shadow walked swiftly in a theatrical way. What a show off. Ryuji took this opportunity to walk inside the back area safely. He was in. The door closed right after him. Ren stopped in the middle of the scene, looking at the four people in the middle of the seats. He was visibly disappointed an instant, but kept his playful tone anyway. 

“Is there only you four?” He asked.

“Indeed.” Responded Yusuke.

“How did you knew about this place?”

“Do you really think we wouldn’t notice?” Told Futaba.

“Maybe, maybe. But you know, I have my reasons to doubt,  when you  _All_ put your weight on me.”

He glanced at Haru he didn’t got the time to know more indeep yet.

“Or, well, most of you, and I kindly carry selflessly, with little to no sight of you noticing how much it pained me to be the perfect leader for you all. I sat there with you listening to all your vent, all your little problem. But this is my duty anyway, as the trickster and wild card.”

“Ren, you didn’t had to, you know.” Said Morgana.

“Easy to say from the constant reminder of my role. Always monitoring on my shoulder, I hated that.”

Morgana looked away. The two girls looked at each other, sad. 

“Everything I did was for the phantom thieves, and only the phantom thieves. Never got the time for myself to rest, I had to work on getting more and more useful skill and item. Even when I tried to rest I couldn’t find sleep anyways”

“You could have asked us for help.” Declared Yusuke.

“Could I? When all my friend breaks up on me, if I told them anything, wouldn’t be an additional burden to them and their struggles? Urg, why do I even bother.”

Futaba felt bad at those word. It reminded her on herself.

“If I kept everything to me, it was for your own good.”

“But by doing so, Ren-kun, you are hurting yourself.” Mentioned Haru.

“Who cares anyway, it worked well that way.”

Before anyone could add on, the door behind them opened. The shadow looked behind. Nobody was there. Did someone infiltrate the palace? He had his own idea on the situation. He walked toward the place before hearing a familiar voice echoing in the wall.

“Shut up man, we both know it didn’t worked well.”

The shadow went from fear to surprise to anger. 

“So, you do are here, Ryuji.”

Morgana was angry, why would he waste such a perfect cover?

“Didn’t I told you I won’t abandon you? Now catch me if you can.”

The shadow’s silhouette looked more and more enraged. Futaba had an idea. She pulled Yusuke’s shirt and he leaned an ear. He nods, ready to run. When the shadow started to walk back, he ran and took the chains that locked the cognition. Surprised to be held back, he falled face first in the floor.

“Waiiiiiit” A scream from the long entrance is echoed. Makoto and Ann were here. 

“Sorry, we’re late.” Told the biker. “I came as soon as I saw the message.”

“I gave up on my studies.”

Makoto gave a deadly look at Ann.

“I couldn’t concentrate with Ren’s situation. A-Anyways, we’re here.”

“I’ll recap everything” Said Futaba. “For now, let’s find a way to lock the shadow here, then go in the back area and find a safe room.”

“Sounds good.”

Makoto looked around, trying to find a piece of architecture so they could use. There was a conveniently placed pillar not so far in the back. They pulled the chains and an annoyed shadow up to it. When comes the question on how they will assure themselves to him not being to escape, Haru, with her biggest smile, proceed to open one of the metalic ring, before closing it on another part of the chain, successfully locking the shadow in this piece. Every witness was terrorized by the sheer force such a lady had. She did carried an axe easily but it really didn’t came across their mind.

“Shall we go?”

“Uh, sure.”

The thieves walked inside the back area. The moment one of them stepped in, everyone’s outfit turned in their metaverse outfit. 

Ryuji could hear everything about Ren’s conversation in the stage. The ambiance of the back was completely  different from the front. Still pretty cold and blue, but this time, nothing trying to make the area pretty. There was some kind of black goo running on the floor. He wish he could not to step in that. He noticed there was a lot of cells, but like, the total opposite from the main entrance. The cells where inhabited with puppets. They didn’t seems to represent anyone. One room was odd, certainly a safe room. He noted the location to go there later on. 

He walked slowly in the maze this jail place was, until he met a cell with a huge number over it. 0. In the cell, an automate representing an old man with a long nose, with in front of him… a puppet representing Ren? He’s in dirty stripped clothes, wearing a sad theater mask. Several chains are coming from this cell too. He noticed a lever in the back. He opens the door, and slides in. 

_ “If I kept everything to me, it was for your own good.” _

He pushed the lever and… Grinding noise. The door must have opened. Perfect.

_ “Who cares anyway, it worked well that way.” _

The blond boy heard it well. The main objective of the infiltration is complete, he can reveal himself. He shouted while directing himself to the safe room. Hopefully, the other will join him fast enough. 

They opened the door of the safe room, revealing a little pissed off Ryuji waiting at the table. He looked at the group coming in, noticing the two new girl. Morgana ran to the table.

“Ryuji why did you waste your cover? I know what you told me but that was completely stupid even from you!” He shout.

“Sorry, but I can’t stand him saying that. And beside we have access to the back area.”

“You still shouldn’t have do that.”

“Ryuji, there is something I’d like to ask. What did you meant by “we both know”?” Asked Yusuke, making the blond boy uncomfortable.

“Oh, um, it’s just… That months ago… he did told me all the stuff he vented…? He asked me to not tell you guys back then but…” He sighted, the head low. “I should have expected he would continue this way. He’s really been stressing himself on being the greatest leader for us.”

“Is he a perfectionist?”

“I think so. He also doesn’t want anyone of us to be hurt in any way so… And maybe some other stuff I don’t know” 

“Let’s recap the situation.” Said Futaba, before doing so. Makoto and Ann felt bad for Ren when they heard what he said. Ryuji looked away, wondering why he didn’t do anything while he knew his friend’s feeling.

“That’s… horrible.” That’s all Ann manage to say.

“We have to do something.” Added Makoto.

“Glad to hear about it, Makoto” Said Morgana.

“Here’s all the information I have collected while he was venting.” Annonced Futaba, showing a map of the palace. Much, much smaller than exepected. “The treasure looks like it’s in this circle area. I’ve noticed there were a lot of locked door.”

“There must be cells with levers in them that unlocks them.” Said Ryuji. “That’s what I found for the main door.”

“I see. Was there something noticeable?”

“Yeah, a big 0 over the door, a robot of a long nosed old man and a Ren puppet in front of him. We should see it while walking toward the treasure.”

“I see, so I think we should expect other long nosed old man robot.” Joked Futaba.

“I don’t think so” Interrupted Morgana. “I think we might see ourselves in the cells. I think I recognize the maid we met while coming in the main place.”

The thieves was thinking an instant. Some curious about why does he know a maid in particular. Ryuji remembers the operation maid watch. Did he still was in contact with that maid?

“What does the number represent you think?” Wondered Ann.

“I don’t effing know.”

They started to talk about the map more in detail. Ryuji added the location of the first lever on the map, to serve as a reference point. They pinned out location that could be similar to the 0 cell. They remarked a much bigger room somewhere in the middle of the room. They decided to go there first. They looked at the time, and noticed that it started to be late in the real world. They agreed on meeting in front of the palace tomorrow. They walked out of the room, in direction of the entry. Two twins Ryuji already met was there, fixing what Haru did. This interaction makes the group stop.

“How did you fell in such a stupid trap, inmate?” Asked one of the two. The voice was half robotic, weirdly enough. “You should feel lucky we can easily fix that.”

The other looked around, some paperworks in her hand. She noticed the thieves, and give a faint smile to them. 

“Shut up.” Said the shadow, looking away, embarrassed. The girl hit the column with her metallic stick, sound resonating in the whole place. 

“Caroline?”

“What is it, Justine?”

“The inmate’s friend are here.”

The so called Caroline looked at them. A big smile is drawing on her face, looking a bit scary.

“Our master will be pleased to hear this.” Said Justine, closing her eyes. She turns to Caroline. “We shall go now.” 

Caroline nods, before the two walked away to the back area. Ren stood up, looking at his friends. They didn’t know what to ask, a bit uncomfortable. They started to walk away, but they got interpelled.

“Wait, Ryuji…”

He turned to see the shadow.

“Hm?”

The shadow looked as uncomfortable as the rest of the group. He knew now it was useless to try to hold on a facade as everyone knows how he felt, but he couldn’t resist staying in this comfort zone keeping everything inside was. The team also looked at the shadow at this point.

“ Nevermind. Just… Don’t take too long, ok?”

“’Do ing my best.”

“I… I’ll wait for you. I...”

Shadow Ren hesitated a bit, marking a pause here. 

“… don’t want to be trapped here anymore…”

“I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, there is a lot of stuff i edited out because it felt like it didn't worked well. I hope you enjoy it ! Comments are welcome ! As well as tips on how to improve my writing too !
> 
> See you next week ! Chapter 5 is on it's way, just need to settle on what i wanna do ~


	5. Chapter four and an half

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ann pester Ryuji his crush, and she wants to tell the team about it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve only noticed now that this fic is very Ryuji centric. Heh that’s fine.
> 
> The more and more I plan for the nano, and the more and more I think of one of my planned fic and the more and more I feel like I will just do the word quota just with my persona 5 ideas lol
> 
> This chapter is more self indulgent, i kinda wanted to write something more carefree

The thieves were back to the real world. They planned on going to the palace once their exams were finished. This made Ryuji terribly nervous. He didn’t know for how long Ren could stay like this. There was also the black masked person they’ve heard of that can be a problem if he hears about this. He certainly won’t be able to concentrate during the week, and the school festival won’t be something so fun. He sighs as he went to his bed. He hears his phone ringing. He received a message from Ann. What does she wants?

“Hey, you good?”

“Yeah why?” He could feel that she’s about to ask.

“Really? With Ren’s palace and all, I’m worried about you. I know you love him, did something happens?”

Ryuji sighs. Maybe he should tell her everything.

“I guess. How would you feel if your crush likes you but have trust issues that makes him push people away?”

She didn’t respond. He facepalmed thinking how ridiculous this situation is. Maybe he should just confess or something once the exam are over. But does he feels ready? Does he have time for that? His train of though got cut with the notification sound.

“I can’t find words no matter how hard I try.”

That’s understandable. 

“You know, I still hear the pet names the shadow used for me”  
“Like, darling, or dear…”

He hesitated an instant.

“Or my love”

He’s blushing real hard now.

“Omg this feels so awkward…”

“Ryuji.”

“What.”

“Ryuji.”

“What??”

“You’re so in love lol”

“That’s not funny Ann!”

“Dw I’m just teasing.”

“Urg.”

“And beside, I kinda want to inform the team. Would be easier for you I think.”

“I kinda don’t want to embarrass myself with the fact I fell in love with our leader yk”

“Do you really think the other pt make fun of you because of it?”

“They do make fun of me for a lot of stuff.”

She took some times to reply.

“Uh true sorry about that”

“Used to it”

“Anyways, can I?”

“Why would it be easier?”

“Uhhh dunno? You’d be free to like not hold with your affection or something. I know you’re very tactile when it come to showing your love.”

Touche.

“Futaba and the cat would tease me about it and this idea doesn’t sounds cool ya know”

“You’d get Haru and Makoto’s support, and possibly Yusuke if he’s not too detached. 3 vs 2”  
“Well 4 as I’m here for you too.”

She’s such a pain.

“Fine, I guess. You’re gonna pay for it.”

No response, a new group chat is created. He’s not going to look at it. 

“You love ramen right? Sounds like a good place to go.”

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll see.”

The notification in the group chat’s going crazy.

“Are ya looking at the other chat?”

“It feels super awkward you know.”

“Tldr Futaba knew, Haru’s surprised along Makoto, Yusuke find you cute. Morgana’s with Ren so he doesn’t know yet”

“I feel myself die in my bed Ann, thank you.”

“You’re welcome, they are wondering why you aren’t responding lol”

“Oh fuck off.”

He opens the group chat. He closed it immediately. Now that they all know about it he doesn’t want to see anyone.

“Tell them I just want to sleep right now. Why did you add me to the convo already?”

“Dunno, it concerns you so”

He noticed a new chat opened. It’s Futaba.

“Sooooo how’s the lover?”

Of course it would be her. He’s ready for her making fun of him.

“Regretting every choice he’s ever made”

“Aww don’t say that. I may suck at relationship stuff I could notice how much you cared about Ren.”

“Are you going to tease me or something?”

“Nah, that’s not fun”

“Oh thank god.”

“Anyways, you def should confess when Ren have his change of heart, it looks like the perfect opportunity.”

“But when would that occurs…”

“Idk tbh. Can I ask you for how long you had this crush? Just curiosity.”

“hm, I don’t know… Forever? Like, first hint I might just not be straight is uhhh…”

Wait, when was that again?

“when he awoke his Persona. My heart skipped a beat I think.”

“That was back in?”

“April.”

“When you two just met?”

“Uh yeah, well, something like two hour after we just met.”

“Oh so that’s kinda love at first sight, that’s so cute”  
“Oh yeah btw you should def check the gc, we totally aren’t messing you or anything.”

“Should I really?”

“Yeah totally”

He opened the group chat again. The first three messages are from Ann.

“Guys, I have something important to tell you, but promise me to stay civil and all” 

“It’s about Ryuji.”

“He have a Huge Crush tm on Ren for some times now”

And then a lot of messages that flooded in, mostly from Futaba and Makoto.

“Also I may have to add that, according to Ryuji, Ren’s shadow totally confessed that Ren do have a crush on Ryuji too.”

Even more flood here. He noticed that nobody even tried to hold his situation up to ridicule or anything. Futaba sent another message in private.

“You’re so red right now lol”

“Can you not hack my phone for five minute?”

He continued to read all the messages. There was… Support for him? That felt weird to read that, but comforting. He forgot why he was so scared at first. Makoto was worried by the lack of response from him, then joined by Haru. He writes something in.

“Thanks guys”

Ann was the first to respond.

“Told you to check here”

“Are you ok Ryuji?” Asked Makoto

“Much better than I thought honestly”

“Shall we tell Mona-chan when we can?”

Ryuji thought about it a moment before answering. “Nah, I’d love to see his face when I’ll confess.”

“Agreed, must be priceless mwehehe”

“Honestly, I think we all would like to hear your confession so if you can… wait for when we’re all together?” Asked Ann

“I can’t promise that.”

“Is there anything we can do for you to help you out Ryuji?” It was Makoto’s turn to ask. 

“I can’t think of anything right now. Just, thank you all guys!”

He feels like he’s about to cry. This amount of love and support from his friend overwhelmed him. He’s laying on his bed, looking at his ceiling. He glance a last time at the group chat.

“Heh, Ryuji’s crying.” Said Futaba.

“Oh fuck off Futaba, didn’t I already asked you to not spy me like 5m ago?”

“I forgot lol”

He left a last message, telling them he’ll be away from his phone for some time. He wiped the tear on his cheeks, with a huge smile on his face. Next step is telling Ren in person he loves him and everything will be ok, he think so. He took a deep breath then go help his mother with some household task. He can’t wait to change Ren’s heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> edit : Ok so at first the next chapter was supposed to be updated month ago but i have an hard time getting something to work, it's officially on a little hiatus until i figure stuff out, but be assured i will write the rest !
> 
> I'll keep you more updated about my writing on [twitter](https://twitter.com/LaKuroNekoBaka) btw if ur interested


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